UConn looking to fill hole at tight end

Chris Elsberry

Updated 11:38 pm, Tuesday, August 6, 2013

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Former Connecticut tight end Ryan Griffin (94) hauls in a pass against Pittsburgh during the first half of an NCAA college football game in East Hartford, Conn., Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. The Huskies are looking for someone -- anyone -- to fill his and John Delahunt's position. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

STORRS -- It just might be the biggest question mark facing the UConn football team this season.

It's not who's going to be the backup quarterback if Chandler Whitmer gets hurt (it might not be who everyone thinks). It's not who's going to be the starting center or who's going to play alongside Byron Jones at cornerback or who's going to play on either side of Yawin Smallwood at linebacker.

No, it's who's going to be the tight end.

The tight end? OK, so it's not the most glamorous position, but it's the one that probably suffered the biggest loss with the graduations of both Ryan Griffin and John Delahunt. Last season, the two combined to catch 47 passes for 707 yards and seven touchdowns. Of the three returning tight ends listed on the 2013 roster, not one caught a pass last season, leaving the question of who's going to start at tight end as a giant one.

"I think that they're all big, good-looking kids," said offensive coordinator T.J. Weist after Tuesday's practice, the fifth for the Huskies and their first in full pads. "They've got the physical size, that's what you look for first, but I think they have to develop their physicality for us. Their toughness. They're inexperienced, not just in playmaking but blocking. They're all talented but we have to get them as much experience as they can get. It's a heavy competition."

And through these initial five practices, no one has really stood out. Not yet, anyway.

"I'm pleased with how hard they're working, especially Spencer Parker and Sean McQuillan," head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. "I think they're really doing a pretty good job. The younger guys are kind of hanging in there. Tommy (Myers) ... we've thrown a lot at Tommy. But he's pretty athletic. He shows that he's pretty good running the routes and that he's pretty good catching the ball. He's got to work on his blocking, for sure. That's something that probably wasn't as big a factor in high school, now it's huge. We're going to have tight ends that can run and can catch."

Like Griffin and Delahunt. Griffin was the fifth leading receiver last season with 29 receptions for 484 yards and six touchdowns. Delahunt wasn't far behind with 18 catches for 223 yards and a TD. In order to replace that, someone is going to have to step up.

"Obviously, there's a lot of inexperience at the tight end position right now," said McQuillan, who checks in at 6-foot-4, 237 pounds. "But I mean, we have coach (Mike) Foley, and he's been around the game forever. He's really been a big help. And I think we have a great unit that's going to come together and make plays and make up for the inexperience that we have on the field.

"I just want to play my game and I know I can be effective in this offense. I know I can be a big piece in the receiving game and the blocking game."

So does Myers, who's also a solid 6-foot-4, 238 pounds and caught 27 passes for 529 yards and seven touchdowns at Coventry last season.

"I'm just trying to play physical and fast," he said. "I'm trying to learn the playbook, which is a struggle in itself. It's a lot different from high school. In order to get it down, you've got to take time and study it as much as you can. That's what I'm trying to do. Just come out here and work hard."

While all five can run the routes and catch the ball, the player who picks up the blocking schemes might be the one who gets the chance to start in the season opener against Towson on Aug. 29.

"Blocking for me, lately, has been a secondary thing but it needs to become a primary thing," McQuillan said. "That's what tight ends do. We block first, we catch and we run routes. As a group, we're coming together and doing that."

"I think as a group, we can be good," Myers added. "Sean looks very good out there. Parker looks really good, too. So hopefully, the rest of us can contribute any way we can."